Most mergers and acquisitions fail, but those that don’t create added value to a company. Most organisations choose to merge with another company because they want to increase their value. But how exactly do you make sure that any merger you’re undertaking is going to add value to your company?
It is common for people to assume that merging with another company will automatically add value, but this isn’t always the case. Returns can take two or three years to come, and even then, they might not be plentiful. How much a merger returns also depends on several other factors, such as how much due diligence was done beforehand, and how well the change was managed overall.
The key here is to accept that you must be much more flexible in your merger if you choose to go ahead with it in this climate. The marketplace is unstable, interest rates and inflation rates are having a global impact, and so creating value might not be as simple as it once was. Due diligence is more important than it has ever been before, as is a robust plan for the change.
The value of a change manager
Change managers have never been more important. A change manager is responsible for managing all aspects of a major change in a company. They’ll identify key team players, skills gaps, and potential pitfalls. This not only means you have a professional on the job, it also means you, as a leader, can get on with business as usual.
If you engage a change manager early enough, they can help advise you before you merge with a business. This is absolutely your best chance of making sure you’re acquiring a company it is possible to merge with in the first place, which is a vital part of creating value when merging with a company.
Yorkshire Change can help. Our change managers are experienced and dedicated. To speak to us about the value of a change manager, please fill in the contact form on our website, or call 0333 090 8710.
How to create value using a merger
The first thing you need to do is know how you are going to create value and be able to communicate it effectively. Unless you can see the end point, how is it ever going to work? You should know where the strengths of each company lie and how each one will help you to achieve added value.
Next, you’ll need to figure out how you can leverage synergies and where there are other opportunities for transformation. There’s undoubtedly areas of overlap where you can create savings. There might also be standalone improvements you can make to one company or both in order to increase value.
During the due diligence stage, you should have already made a start on integration. You should have a good idea of what is going to be integrated and when, and have a complete integration roadmap and timeline that determines this change and how it will impact the company.
Don’t forget your cultural integration. This is one of the most important parts of a merger, because the valuation of a company is determined by the skill set of its workforce. If you lose almost everyone, the impacts could be detrimental. Keeping your employees happy is vitally important. Mergers that focus on culture succeed three times more often than those where integrating culture wasn’t a priority.
Finally, you need to keep the business running. We’ve already mentioned the benefits of having a change manager, and one of those benefits is most certainly allowing you the time to continue with business as usual. This is vital in order to keep revenues high and maintain the success of the business.
You can’t know too much, or plan too much, or prepare too much. Following the steps above should give you the best chance of adding value when you merge your company.
A change manager will help you with all of this, and will be well worth your investment.
Change managers
We can’t tell you enough how important we think change managers are to the merger and acquisition process. They’ll help you with your due diligence and handle all aspects of the change, to give your merger or acquisition the absolute best chance of success.
We think the best way to add value using a merger most certainly involves adding a change manager to the process from the very beginning. We know that over 80% of all mergers and acquisitions fail, so it is vitally important that you give your M&A the absolute best change of success, and that involves a change manager.
Yorkshire Change can help you manage your organisation change. For more information or to speak to a dedicated member of our team, fill in the contact form on our website, or call 0333 090 8710.